Do you remember the popular TV series Charmed? It aired from 1998 to 2006, and featured three benevolent witch-sisters who spent their time fighting the forces of evil in San Francisco.

How is Charmed relevant to baby names? Well, one of the fictional sisters was named Piper. (All of the sisters had P-names, in fact.)

Before the series first went on the air, the name Piper had been relatively obscure. Once the show started, though, this spunky little name was thrust into the spotlight...and expectant parents took notice.

In 1999, one year after Charmed debuted, the name Piper ranked for the very first time among the top 1,000 baby names in the United States:

Piper has risen in popularity nearly every year since debuting on the list. It even rose in popularity in 2007, one year after the final Charmed episode aired.

(For the sake of comparison, other baby names that have recently experienced popularity spurts as well include Addison, Dakota, Gianna, Madison, Miley, Mya, Neveah, Riley, Scarlet, Stella, Trinity and Zoe.)

So, where does the name Piper come from, etymologically speaking? It was derived from an English surname that originally referred to a piper (i.e. someone who played a pipe, or a flute). Like the names Harper and Taylor, Piper is technically gender-neutral...but it is given to baby girls more often than to baby boys.

Are there any famous Pipers out there? Well, besides the fabled Pied Piper of Hamelin, there are American actresses Piper Laurie and Piper Perabo (...who was named after the aforementioned Piper Laurie, ironically). And a number of people have the surname Piper, including former pro-wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Australian actress Ailsa Piper.

And now, the big question: How do you feel about the name Piper? Let us know in the Baby Names Forum!